Introduction: HOW TO MAKE AN AMAZING ROBOT COW SCARECROW

By Just Measuring Up
About: We are Ash and Eileen, husband and wife DIY bloggers. We love working on projects in and around our home.

I recently created Moo-Bot, a robot cow scarecrow jumping over the moon, for a local scarecrow competition.

My inspiration was from my son singing "hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle..."

The project was a lot of fun to work on with my son, and I would love to share it with others for inspiration on their own projects this Fall.

You can read the complete details on my blog post about Moo-Bot here:

http://www.justmeasuringup.com/blog/robot-scarecro...

Step 1: See Moo-Bot in Action

Press his button and see him come to life!

Step 2: Plan Your Design

I used TinkerCAD to mock up my design.

Step 3: Build a Body Frame to Store Components

Build a rigid frame to support your robot's body, as well as to store your electrical components. Sheet metal will wrap this frame and make it rain proof.

Step 4: Add Power Switch

You'll want to have a power switch to activate the robot. Although mine is inside the body, I can still access it fairly easily from underneath.

Step 5: Build the Head

Construct a wooden frame for the head.

Step 6: Wrap Head With Sheet Metal

Carefully put pieces of sheet metal to fit the head and attach to frame with screws. Take note to overlap pieces that may leave openings for rain to seep in.

Step 7: LED Eyes

Here's a clever way to mount some eyes in your robot's head.

Step 8: Folding Sheet Metal for the Body

Fold two rectangular sheet metal panels into U shapes as seen in the picture.

Step 9: Assemble Body Enclosure

Connect the two boxes from prior step to form the large body of your robot cow. I used small nuts/bolts to connect the sheets. You could use rivets if you're up for that.

Step 10: Fasten Body Housing to Frame

Connect the sheet metal housing to the body frame with screws. You should also cut out a large access panel on the rear of the body. This will make it easy to access your electrical components once the robot is fully assembled. Cover the access panel with another piece of sheet metal and screw that into the frame.

Step 11: Head/body Connector Cables

If you have the tools, I would suggest creating a plug and play method of connecting the electronics from the head to the body. I made the head easily detachable from the body by repurposing some computer power supply adapters so I could plug/unplug the head.

Step 12: Reinforce the Scarecrow Post

Although the robot body was not that heavy, I didn't want to risk the post snapping from a strong gust of wind. So reinforce the post with some metal.

Step 13: Cut a Round Moon

Use a jigsaw and cut a round moon from some wood. Sand the edges smooth, paint it, and attach to the post. I also added some string LED lights around the moon, and wired it to the body.

Step 14: Circuit Diagram

Here is my complete circuit diagram for Moo-Bot.

Step 15: Prototype the Circuit Before Installing Into Robot

Get the circuit working to your satisfaction before installing in robot. It's a lot easier to solve issues when the circuit is sitting right on your desk.

Step 16: Enjoy Moo-Bot

Press Moo-Bot's button and enjoy his jokes!

Remember to read the complete details of the Moo-Bot build at http://www.justmeasuringup.com/blog/robot-scarecro...